In Mini Mode...

... I was cleaning up and just listed lots of ACEOs (mini paintings) in my Etsy shop that I had painted but never listed for various reasons, which may or may not include laziness. haha I figured why not just put it out there. Some things that I don't particularly like all that much, others like, so who knows.

The Sky's The Limit

ACEOs (Art Cards Editions & Originals) /ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) are great to use for trying new techniques on, to experiment on, or to see how a painting is going to look before putting it to a large canvas. I am hooked on painting these collectible cards. I prefer to paint on a small canvas rather than a large canvas. In this market that means I have to paint twice or three times as much to make as much money as a large canvas would bring. Truthfully when I first saw ACEOs/ATCs I didn't get it, but I have grown to love them. I joined a ACEO/ATC group on Facebook months ago but haven't participated in a traded yet, my bad, but I plan to. Some people keep them in journals, use them in scrapbooks, create handmade cards with them, collect them in ACEO/ATC books, but I think they are the cutest framed. I would like to do a grouping of them. Believe or not my walls have very little on them.

BIG Shout Outs & Thank You's go to AdeleBeeAnn, SmilingBlueDog, Claire's Clayware, HippopotameJewelry, Sweetybird09 for featuring my Art in their wonderful collections in Etsy Treasuries! They have some wonderful things in their shops. Just click on their names to check them out.

Next week, in honor of my 2nd blog anniversary, I'm having an Anniversary Party and you are invited! I will be giving away an Original ACEO, of your choice, as a thank you for all my Faithful Followers. So if you are not a Follower/Angel of mine yet you still have a chance to get in on the drawing!

The Buzz.....

... I finally finished my pieces for the Bee show! Today is the deadline to deliver my pieces and I literally finished a few minutes ago. If you are wondering where the vintage looking angel I was working on is, well she's gone, after weeks of painting on her, I painted over her 4 days before the deadline & started from scratch to complete this piece. I must like stressing myself out. The piece is a large canvas 18 x 24 and the initial angel was sweet but I wasn't digging it being just a great big head with a big hat. I think they are great for smaller pieces but I thought there needed to be a lot more interest on a big canvas. Obviously there is a lot more going on now. Everyone loves this final piece better and I think I do too. I am selling 5 x 7 prints of this piece in my Etsy Shop. If you are interested in purchasing the original before the show & helping bee research you can email Laurelin Gilmore. For more info & all the press on the show please click on this Link.

"Bees In Her Bonnet"

More buzz ..... Thank you StoryBeader at a Stroll through Storyland ! It is such an honor to be chosen to be featured on your blog in such a manner! Please check out her fantastic blog & her feature on me Here! Warning...you will see my messy studio!

And more buzz!... My son won 2nd place a salsa contest today using my original salsa recipe! You know how I love peppers and all things hot. I have lots of original salsa recipes. This is a green salsa with ginger & cucumber. I may share the recipe one day so stay tuned!

To whom it may concern...if you're still out there... It feels like a week ago, but probably not, time is passing so fast, someone, you know who you are, sent me a message and presented me with blog award. I meant to respond & post it I really did, I appreciated it too, I really did, but somehow I spaced it out. Now I can't find it or find you! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!

Go Figure

I had a pretty uneventful but very relaxing weekend, which I needed. Watched a few movies. The Invention of Lying was AWFUL. We thought it would be funny starring Ricky Gervais and had looked forward to renting it. Turns out it was blasphemous & not funny. Making fun of, or trying to make people think that believing in God is stupid, was not entertaining in the least. Really a disappointment. Ricky's performance was ok, he pretty much acts the same in every movie. Jennifer's performance was dull for me, she's not that funny or believable. She was suppose to be a real beauty in the film but with the awful hair styles, this was hard for me to buy. At times I even thought she was ugly. I'm sorry if that sounds really mean. You are pretty Jen but your ears are distracting. Just keeping it real. Why hasn't someone told her that her ears are just too odd looking to wear ponytails or her hair pulled tightly back or pushed back around the ears? Sorry Jennifer, said with all kindness, please don't let them fix your hair like this anymore.

I went through some of the many canvases I have to be repainted or thrown out, pieces that I never listed, never finished, or just wasn't pleased with. Examining each old canvas with a fresh eye, it was noticeable to even me how much I have grown since painting full-time. I also noticed that I may have given up on a few pieces too quickly, instead of working on it a little longer. After I finished some pieces that I have to get done I may repaint some of my old paintings. Maybe paint some new folky stuff, some new crabs, chickens & funky flowers.

I'm having fun painting the little bees right now and have added a few new ACEOs to my Etsy Shop. I may put a few old ones just mentioned on Ebay & start the bid like so many do at $.99 just to make room for more, spring clean. I have heard many pros & cons to listing on Ebay at $.99. As a full-time artist it could be very discouraging to have your hard work & originals go for pennies. Not to mention the hole you are in for cost of supplies. Also what does it say about your art? Does it reflect how you value your work or others will? I was approached by someone not long ago offering to put all my original artwork under their name and sell it on Ebay with a starting bid of $.99, promising me big final bids & they would take a commission. What? Not sure why they would think this would be a good idea for me to do. Ebay fees are already high, more than $.99! I know there are a few Artist that have a following that do quite well, however, it's been the opposite experience for me. Recently I put an opening bid of $4.99 on an ACEO, which I feel is low for original art work, it didn't sell. Then I put an opening bid at $11.99, a more reasonable price for a mini original, and it sold. So go figure! I'm taking a poll. What do you think? Would you or do you list your work on Ebay with an opening bid at $.99 ? I'd love to hear what you have to say on this subject.

I've had so much fun creating collections in Etsy's new Treasury East. Click Here to see the collections I've made so far. I am also honored that the following people have included my art in their creative collections! Click on their name to see their shop & their Treasury to see their collections. The Big Shout Outs go to RasberrySwirl81 their Treasury, SilverandEarth their Treasury, DesigningIt their Treasury , MindieLee their Treasury and my friend Terraworks who makes beautiful pottery. Unfortunately her Treasury has expired already but it was lovely & lovely to be included.

Perfect Love...

Did you know that the meaning of tulips is perfect love? Red tulips, true love. Yellow tulips, hopeless love.
This piece was created in love to benefit bee research.

I hope you enjoy the video I made of the creation of this piece!

Work In Progress

My Gallery show was so fun. There were lots of people and great art. I started this painting which is large 18 x 24 for the Bee show in May. This is in the first few layers stage. It's inspired by my love of bees & vintage vase heads. I started a collection about 10 years ago but in a tragic accident they were all broken except for one. It's a Napco 1959, grey suit & pearls. I keep pale pink silk roses in her hat. One day I may be able to start collecting them again, until then I'll have these Angels.

What A Wonderful Way...

...to start this week! I woke up to find that one of my paintings was featured on the Christian Artist Team Blog . What a sweet surprise and a wonderful post in which to be included in. Thank you! One of my Angels was also featured in this eye-popping Etsy Treasury made by Angelpupscreations. I love her nail & wire crosses.

This weekend I worked on a crocheted baby blanket for my niece. She's having a girl and this is not the typical pink baby blanket. I feel bad I didn't have it finished in time to mail for her baby shower, but better late than never. You know how I love bees..... I searched for a bee pattern but couldn't find any that I thought would work so I had to make this one up. I think they came out pretty cute if I say so myself. I'm thinking it needs a few flowers here & there as well. The blanket itself is made of black & white strips that crochet up really fast. I am pleased how this is turning out and I hope she likes it. In May there is a Bee Gallery Opening/Benefit which I plan to be participating in. If I have time I may make another one for that show as well as a painting & my bee zines.

I ate oriental food all weekend. Just craving it. I even stayed up late last night painting this piece! I am selling prints of it in my Etsy Shop. Looking at this piece today makes me want to eat some more! I treasure my memories of living in Japan, although as a child I didn't eat sushi. My favorite thing was the animal shaped pancakes filled with sweet red beans that they had at every festival. I had so much fun painting this that I may paint some more. In addition to craving oriental food on my plate, I'm craving sage green on my palette. Maybe it's the weather, gray skies, wintry muted colors? Don't worry I'll snap out of it. haha

My First Zine!

What's a Zine you say? It's a tiny 8 page magazine, card or book made from 1 piece of paper. This was so much fun!! I did a Old Fashioned Bee theme and have listed some for sale on Etsy. I had to come up with all the things to put on the page, then it was hours of frustration trying to get it to print out right! I used 110lb card stock. When I finally got it right, I added ribbon, antiqued the edges and added glitter to the bees wings. I have some other themes in mind to do. These are cool cards but are little gifts in & of themselves. Little tags, gift cards or notes could be stuffed into the open edges on a few of the pages. These would be great for altered art !
I need a bone folder asap! I love folding paper! When I was little and lived in Japan I was an origami geek! I had origami paper all over my room! I have forgotten most of it but I still can make cranes!